Heights
by selenehekate
Summary: Oneshot. Ron really wants to take Lily flying, but she's too afraid to tell him 'no.' What happens when she's forced to go against her will?


"Come on! Let me take her. You know I'll be careful!"

"I know _nothing_ of the sort, Ronald," Ginny snapped with a shake of her head. "You nearly _dropped_ James the first time you took him up-"

"Hermione had just had Rose! My arms were tired from carrying my daughter all of the time. But Rose is big now and my arms are better now, I swear!"

"Ron-"

"Lily's three years old and she's _never_ been on a broom, Ginny! There's something _really_ wrong with that picture."

The child in question, little Lily Luna Potter, stood beside her mother, clutching the redhead's leg as she stared up at her uncle. They were standing in the backyard of the Burrow on a warm summer day. Lily didn't really understand what they were fighting about, but she hated the yelling. She never liked it when her mother yelled.

She scowled. "That's not for you to say!"

"You're a professional _Quidditch_ player! You should have taken her up _ages_ ago-"

"I separate my work life from my home life, Ron," she said, her voice turning stern. "And I have every right to do that."

"I agree," he backtracked. "You're completely right. So you stay right here, and let _me_ take her up."

Lily's head tilted to the side. The conversation was changing. Her uncle was becoming happier.

"Ron-"

"Please? Please. Hermione and I aren't haven't any more children. Lily's the last one in our extended family who has never been on a broom before. I love... I love taking someone flying who has never been before. Seeing the look of joy on their faces... Lily's my last chance to do that. Unless, you know, I'm creepy and kidnap some muggle children - kidding! I'm kidding!" he said quickly, seeing the look of disapproval on his sister's face.

Ginny sighed. "Only if you're careful-"

"I will be!"

"_And_ if Lily wants to," she said, raising her voice. "I'm not going to make my child fly if she doesn't want to."

"That seems more than fair," he consented, a look of joy overtaking his features. He glanced down at Lily, and she peered silently back up at him.

"All right," Ginny said, kneeling down and taking Lily's hands in her own. "All right, now. Lily. Your Uncle Ron wants to take you flying." Her mother pointed to the broomstick in Ron's hand. "Okay? Do you want to go flying?"

All Lily could do was stare at her mother, too surprised to say anything. Flying? In the _sky_? Why would anyone want to go there? Terrified, Lily's eyes widened, but she said nothing. Ginny reached up to brush a strand of hair from her daughter's face. "Come on now, Lily. Do you want to go?"

Of course she didn't want to go! She was too afraid... But Lily couldn't make herself say anything. She was too shy, too embarrassed about being scared. _Mummy knows_, she thought to herself. _Mummy knows I don't wanna go. She won't make me._

"I think that's a yes, Gin," Ron said, a smile forming on his face. "I think we're going flying."

"Silence isn't a yes, Ron!"

"She's a _child_! Silence is _always_ a 'yes' with a child! Trust me. If they don't want to do something, they'll cry _forever_ about it. Hugo is really good at doing that," he muttered with a shudder.

Ginny tilted her head to the side. "True."

"Come on, Lily," Ron said, reaching down and picking the young girl up. "We're going _flying_!"

The girl's eyes widened as she glanced frantically back at her mother, but all Ginny did was shout, "if you drop her, Ron, I swear to Merlin-"

"Nothing's going to happen, Gin," Ron said as he mounted the broom. He held Lily in one hand, the broomstick between her legs, and the handle in another. Lily started breathing heavily, her heart racing as fear flowed through her. "Everything's going to be fine." He pushed off of the ground, shooting off into the air.

Unfortunately, Lily started to scream.

"Lily," Ron said, glancing down at the child in alarm. "Lily, what's wrong?"

"AHHH! AHHH! AHHH!" the girl shouted, as tears began to slosh down her face. Her nose began to drip, but Lily was too panicked to reach up and wipe the snot away, so it flowed down over her lips and into her mouth as she continued to scream. "AHHH!"

"Ron! You bring her down _now_!" Ginny yelled.

Bewildered, Ron landed the broom softly on the grass next to Ginny. The child leapt from the broom and into her mother's arms, where she proceeded to cry even harder.

The door to the Burrow slammed open, and before long, Harry had strode outside, a worried look plastered on his face. "What the _bloody_ hell-"

"Harry, language! Ron, what did you do?" Ginny said, stroking Lily's back.

"Nothing! I just took her up, that's all-"

"Don't like flying," Lily whispered, before hiccuping softly. "Flying scary!"

"Honey, you've never been flying before," Ginny soothed. "How do you know you don't like it?"

"Too high!" Lily said with a shake of her head. "Too high!"

"She's afraid of heights?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"I have no idea," Ginny muttered. "Honey, why didn't you say something? You didn't have to go up there if you didn't want to!" Ginny said, before kissing the top of her daughter's head. "Huh? Why didn't you tell us you didn't want to fly?"

Lily just shrugged, and her father reached down to smooth out her hair. "She must have been too shy," Harry said. "Hm. That's a first. A shy Potter."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "I seem to recall it being a very prominent trait of the Weasley women."

"That could be it," Harry acknowledged.

"Now come on, dear," Ginny said, taking her daughter by the hand. "Why don't we go inside and get you all cleaned up, okay? Maybe take a nice warm bath."

"I'm sorry!" Ron called out weakly.

"Sure you are, mate," Harry said with a small laugh.

Lily, on the other hand, had scrunched her eyes up, thinking. She had to go flying, Daddy had said, because she was too _shy_. Well then she was _never_ going to be shy again! Never!

Whatever _shy_ meant.

* * *

Here we go; another oneshot starring Lily! Though this one, quite obviously, is from before she's the feisty spitfire as she's portrayed in the piece _A Wedding to Remember_ (which you should check out if you haven't yet!).

This piece was written for the One Week Challenge!

Please leave me a review to let me know what you think! I always love getting feedback! Also, drop me a note and let me know which NextGen characters you want me to write more about!

Thank you all! And happy New Year!

-Selene


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